A character's family background is used only during Character creation, and is not visible or noticeable at all during game-play.
It is selected once, right after gender selection, from the following list:
Nobility
Wealthy Urban Family
Town Trades Family
Country Crafts Family
Urban Commoners
Rural Commoners
Though rarely used, they are sometimes grouped as: 2+3+5='urban', 4+6='rural', 3+4='crafts', 5+6='commoners'.
After the family background is selected, it has no more significance, except for a minor role in determining which occupations will be available in the next stage.
Attribute modifiers
The table below(*) lists the attribute modifiers applied automatically to the gender-adjusted base profile, and the EP's you receive for further attribute enhancement:
Family background
End
Str
Agl
Per
Int
Chr
EP's
Total
Nobility
89
89
Wealthy Urban
-1
-1
1
1
90
90
Town Trades
-1
-1
1
2
93
94
Country Crafts
1
1
94
96
Urban Commoners
1
1
1
-1
96
98
Rural Commoners
1
1
1
-1
97
99
The last column shows which are the best selections for maximizing your character's attributes. Clearly the 'poorer' backgrounds offer better opportunities for attribute assignment.
Starting skills
The table below(*) lists the starting skills for each background:
Family background
WEdg
WImp
WFll
WPol
WThr
WBow
WMsD
Alch
Relg
Virt
SpkC
SpkL
R&W
Heal
Artf
Stlh
StrW
Ride
WdWs
Total
Nobility
5
4
1
4
4
2
5
2
4
2
2
1
3
1
40
Wealthy Urban
4
3
3
3
2
5
1
5
1
5
1
1
1
2
2
39
Town Trades
4
5
3
4
1
4
1
4
1
1
5
1
3
37
Country Crafts
4
3
4
1
4
1
2
1
3
1
1
4
1
3
33
Urban Commoners
4
4
3
4
2
2
1
2
1
1
4
4
32
Rural Commoners
3
3
4
3
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
4
30
The last column shows which are the best selections for maximizing your character's skills. Clearly the 'richer' backgrounds offer better opportunities for starting skills (they will also offer a larger variety in occupations to select from later-on).
(*) Though the cluebook lists slightly different values, this table has been checked in-game.
It is selected once, right after gender selection, from the following list:
- Nobility
- Wealthy Urban Family
- Town Trades Family
- Country Crafts Family
- Urban Commoners
- Rural Commoners
Though rarely used, they are sometimes grouped as: 2+3+5='urban', 4+6='rural', 3+4='crafts', 5+6='commoners'.After the family background is selected, it has no more significance, except for a minor role in determining which occupations will be available in the next stage.
Attribute modifiers
The table below(*) lists the attribute modifiers applied automatically to the gender-adjusted base profile, and the EP's you receive for further attribute enhancement:Starting skills
The table below(*) lists the starting skills for each background:(*) Though the cluebook lists slightly different values, this table has been checked in-game.